Erykah Badu

[El_Jeffe]

easily one of the better modern (if not of all time) soul, jazz, hip-hop, r&b vocalist/songwriters out there. we all know of her classic debut baduizm. & if you don't i suggest getting onto checking that out asap

but with all the talk of a poor release list of 2008 so far, i can't help but think people aren't listening to the new badu album. her new one new amerykah part one (4th world war) isn't talked about at all here yet, so let this be a reminder to fans & new comers alike to check it out. part two of this album comes out in july i think? it's so good, a rather eccentric & unconventional album, that may take time to truly sink in with fans, but it hopefully will. i'd just about be willing to say this could be an album for the ages. i'm lovin' it. check it out

http://www.myspace.com/erykahbadu

any fans, share some love & discussion?

[El_Jeffe]

no way this can't get any love, just too good. what happened to all the hip-hop & rhythmic soul fans?

[williek311]

I love Erykah Badu. With that being said The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the best modern Soul/R&B/Hip Hop record.

[gloriousmuse]

My mother is IN LOVE with her so naturally, I've listened to some of her music. She's good but it's not my cup of tea.

[El_Jeffe]

I love Erykah Badu. With that being said The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the best modern Soul/R&B/Hip Hop record.

i greatly enjoy miseducation & it is a defining album in many ways. but it seems to be the record all other female r&b/hip hop is held up to & i don't really get why. sure it's great, sure it's influential, but people like erykah are doing something different too, that's just as special i reckon

also, if you're user title is the album i'm thinking of then.. very nice haha

[allhourcymbals]

I love her voice, but not so much her songs. I haven't heard that many to be honest, but I'll check out a little more when I get the chance.

[williek311]

i greatly enjoy miseducation & it is a defining album in many ways. but it seems to be the record all other female r&b/hip hop is held up to & i don't really get why. sure it's great, sure it's influential, but people like erykah are doing something different too, that's just as special i reckon

also, if you're user title is the album i'm thinking of then.. very nice haha
My user title is the title of the album and my avatar is the cover.

[Cumalus]

i was at erykah's album release party in dallas! lol
she great....organic...

[Jumpoff]

I haven't actually listened to her in a long time. (By a long time, I mean I haven't even sat through a song of hers since I was really young and she performed Tyrone on I THINK the MTV music awards.)


I can't say she's bad, I just never really could get into her. Something about her just annoys me.. can't tell if it's her songs or her vocals.

[styxstones7]

Bag Lady and Call Tyrone...that is all i know. oh and the fact that her baby daddy is andre 3000

[El_Jeffe]

I really think this project is going to be the Phrenology of neo-soul. By which I mean, it's not super accessible and it's kinda a downer in a lot of the lyrical content, but a few years from now its going to hit people exactly how genius it is. Then again, I guess I'm still waiting for most of the planet to wrap their head around that album too...

I hope part II is just as good.

decided to quote this here (originally from the top albums of '08 thread) because i completely agree with it. anyone who has any interest in hip-hop, soul, r&b & alike genres should check this out. i see a lot of people not digging the vocals, but i ask, is that based on the new album or previous efforts? if the latter, the new album deserves a chance. it's bloody good

favourite songs so far: "master teacher" & "soldier"

[allhourcymbals]

I'm listening to the new album now. I'm really liking The Healer, this is how I love her voice.

[El_Jeffe]

same. this has to be one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever made. why isn't everyone all over this haha. i just hope the second half can live up or exceed this. this is my kinda hip-hop sound. meaningful, powerful, creative, original, actual topics of importance throughout the lyrics

[allhourcymbals]

soldier is a really, really good track. probably going to be the one that stands out the most for me.

[El_Jeffe]

March 30 for the very highly anticipated (for me anyway) follow up album? New Amerykah, Part II: Return Of The Ankh looks to finally be coming to light, & I can't wait.

[Jumpoff]

Thanks for bumping, need to give that first album a chance again. Completely forgot to listen

[El_Jeffe]

No worries, I've been hanging out for this album, especially since it was meant to come out 6months after the first album in the series haha.

Did you ever get into Fat Freddy's Drop mate? If so, their new album is a must listen. Easily one of the best bands around, & the fact they still remain independent, home studio recording, self-produced, record mostly live, & always pushing new musical boundaries makes it all the more exciting.

[Jumpoff]

No worries, I've been hanging out for this album, especially since it was meant to come out 6months after the first album in the series haha.

Did you ever get into Fat Freddy's Drop mate? If so, their new album is a must listen. Easily one of the best bands around, & the fact they still remain independent, home studio recording, self-produced, record mostly live, & always pushing new musical boundaries makes it all the more exciting.

I loved the first album. I got the new album and just ended up forgetting about it... I just put it on now because I saw you mentioned it in the other thread. Hopefully I like it as much as the first, I can't remember why I didn't the first time I heard it.

[El_Jeffe]

It doesn't immediately grab the listener like the first album did in places, & is definitely more to digest. But I really enjoy it, a lot of new influences pop up in this one, which is a result of their international touring to some really remote parts of the world. This emergence of sounds is at times subtle, but it's there for a musically travelled listener. There is a lot to pick up upon with each subsequent listen. Great album though, hopefully you enjoy it.

[Jumpoff]

It doesn't immediately grab the listener like the first album did in places, & is definitely more to digest. But I really enjoy it, a lot of new influences pop up in this one, which is a result of their international touring to some really remote parts of the world. This emergence of sounds is at times subtle, but it's there for a musically travelled listener. There is a lot to pick up upon with each subsequent listen. Great album though, hopefully you enjoy it.

Yeah I'm up to song three, and there definitely seem to be a much wider range of influences. Love this guy's voice. Hardest part about this band for me is the song length and my ever waning attention span, but I'm not bored after two extremely long songs, so that's a good sign!

[Jumpoff]

By the way Craig, anything in the last year in the Ska/Reggae genres worth checking out? Haven't been keeping up on things since like, Self Medication by The Slackers

[El_Jeffe]

Yeah I'm up to song three, and there definitely seem to be a much wider range of influences. Love this guy's voice. Hardest part about this band for me is the song length and my ever waning attention span, but I'm not bored after two extremely long songs, so that's a good sign!

So do I, Dukie is now starting to get some Curtis Mayfield comparisons. It's a bit of a push in my mind haha, but his voice is a strength in his own rights. I think song length can be an issue for a lot of people, but this band is a live band, endless groove transcends live incredibly well. These guys are about creating music, freedom, not about fitting into any form of time, genre, media, constraints. I love that wee free-jazz horn breakdown during "Shiverman". It's not an album you can force yourself to listen to to see if you enjoy it or not, you really have to be in that mindset to want to allow the music to wash into the depths of your mind without any conscious effort. But once it does, it will take hold my friend...


EDIT: Westbound Train released a pretty decent album, Come & Get It. But the big one for me last year was Groundation's return to form with Here I Am. The various other musical projects the band members were involved with (notably Rockamoveya) between the recording of Upon The Bridge & Here I Am really really paid creative dividends.

[briewer]

I've been bumping the shit out of 'Jump in the Air'.

[abusedcat]

Mama's Gun is such a good record.

[El_Jeffe]

It really is, & it's always the album of hers that never gets talked about for whatever reason. A lot of people complain it falls off a bit during the second half... & maybe to an extent (if you want to be really picky) there may be some truth to that... but I enjoy it through & through.

Although, I still can't wait for New Amerykah Pt. 2 (Return of the Ankh) to finally come out!

[briewer]

Dat shit's gonna be HOT.

[El_Jeffe]

http://loopgum.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/erykah-badu-cover.jpg

Dat shit's gonna be HOT.

Oh yes it is my friend. This album has finally seen the light of day...

On my first listen now. This is what Badu had to say about the album in a recent interview - "We used a lot of analog instruments…harps, strings, drums, piano, and even a Theremin, to give the album that sonic feel. There’s a strong undercurrent of bottom, a rumbling to these songs that feels good to me. It feels like a hug.”

[El_Jeffe]

I'm a recovering undercover over-lover
Recovering from a love I can't get over

Where are you all at? This is such a great album. & I know I said it about her last album, but I think this new one might just be my favourite work by Badu. She just keeps getting better. So full sounding, rich, lush, warm feel to it, damn this good.

[dtrzcin]

I am going to listen to this tonight.

[dtrzcin]

I'm really enjoying some tracks on this. The production is great.

[El_Jeffe]

It really is, has such a full, lush, organic feel to it. I just love this album. It's slowly become my favourite of Badu's, which is no small feat upon an already strong catalogue. I thought Badu had more fans around these parts however.